Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3

The Mega shouldn't even be called a phone, if it weren't for the fact that it makes phone calls. With a screen measuring 6.3 inches (16 centimeters) diagonally, the Mega is more like a small Android tablet computer. It shares the tablet's advantages in showing more detail in photos and video. Text is larger and easier to read, too.

As a phone, it's huge. It doesn't fully fit in the pocket of my jeans, and it sometimes pokes at my stomach when sitting. It doesn't feel comfortable in my hands. I'm unable to grip it tightly because it's so wide, so I feel as if it's going to slip out of my hands. Without that grip, I also feel that it'll be easy for a thief to snatch it away.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet has an 8-inch (20.3-centimeter) screen, its diagonal length just a quarter larger than the Mega's. But the tablet is about twice the size of the Mega, in part because it has a thick frame. With the Mega, the screen stretches close to the edge, keeping the overall device relatively slim. Held on its side like a movie screen, the Mega is about as wide as a dollar bill, but slightly taller.

The Mega gives you many of the benefits of tablets. With the larger screen, I can read small print on websites without zooming in, and I make fewer mistakes when trying to click on buttons and links. For ebooks, I get a screen size that feels closer to a paperback. I see slightly more content when checking email or Facebook. I don't see a whole lot more, though. Typically, text and images simply get larger to fill out the additional screen space.

Some Android apps have been adapted to take advantage of the tablet's larger screen, but for the ones I checked, apps appear on the Mega as they would on other phones. With the Foursquare social network, for instance, a map showing nearby friends and venues is squeezed into a rectangular banner at the top when held vertically. On tablets, the map is allowed to fill out the entire right half of the display.